When an Old Friend Comes to Town
by choralmelody
Summary: Ranma’s world always experiences a tremor when new faces arrive in Nerima… so what happens when Akane’s childhood friend comes to town? RaAk
1. An Unexpected Meeting

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When an Old Friend Comes to Town

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Ranma's world always experiences a tremor when new faces arrive in Nerima… so, what happens when Akane's childhood friend comes to town?

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Chapter 1 – An unexpected meeting

It was the first day of the school holidays, and at the moment Akane felt as though absolutely nothing could dampen her good mood. Her feet, seeking out the route home, moved at a brisk pace that matched the jaunty tune she was humming beneath her breath. It had been a good day for her. She had spent the entire day with Yuka and Sayuri, picnicking in the park, shopping, watching a movie…and had found in it a welcome temporal distraction from the usual craziness that had permeated almost all areas of her life. For a few hours, she'd been able to put from her mind the convoluted complications surrounding her and her jerk of a fiancé, as well as the inner turmoil that arose from her growing lo --no, fondness for said fiancé. 

Frenzied barks interrupted her thoughts, and when she stopped and turned in surprise a tiny brown and white figure sped towards her, and a larger, human figure hurried after in chase. In one swift motion, Akane bent and scooped the escaping pup into her arms. For a moment it seemed too astonished to move, then it squirmed around to face her and licked her cheek. Akane laughed and stroked it lovingly as the puppy's panting pursuer closed the distance between them. 

"Here," Akane delivered the puppy the into young man's waiting arms with a smile. "I believe this is yours."

The teenager heaved a sigh of relief and gratitude. "Oh, thank you, miss. I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost him. My older sister loves him to pieces and –" He cut himself off abruptly and stared incredulously at her, eyes growing round. "Akane?"

Akane started when he called her by name, and instinctively began searching his face for any clue of his identity. The young man was about her age, taller than she was but shorter than Ranma, with dark brown hair cropped at the ear and soot black eyes. His forehead was high, his nose was slightly turned up, and his chin rather squarish. Altogether pleasing to the eye, though Ranma could give him a run for his money…the pieces begin to click in her head and, eyes brightening in recognition, she exclaimed, "Soji?" 

He beamed. "Yeah, that's right! Kami-sama, is that really you? Tendo Akane? The girl who sat next to me in kindergarten and pounded the school bully on a daily basis?" His voice was full of admiration. 

Akane blushed. "That's me. And you, Tanaka Soji, was the one who drew all the amazing pictures while everyone else was learning to colour within the lines." She remembered those pictures well. Even the teachers had been suitably impressed by his work. But he had always been unpretentious about them. 

He fidgeted uncomfortably at the praise and murmured some modest nothings. Seeing his discomfort, Akane hurried to change the subject. 

"But what are you doing back in Nerima, Soji? After we graduated from Junior High, you moved to Kyoto with your family, didn't you?"

"Ah well, that…you see, I'm thinking of starting a small business of my own, and with my father's help I managed to secure premises here in Nerima. My sister wanted to help, so she moved here with me," he explained.

"What kind of business?" she asked curiously.

"The food sort. I heard that there's a pretty good demand in this area for restaurants, take out food, that kind of stuff." 

"You'll have a lot of competition," Akane warned, " especially from the Cat Café and Ucchan's. They're very popular with the people around here, especially my schoolmates. Personally though, I wouldn't mind eating someplace _other_ then those two places…" she finished sourly, her mind flashing temporarily to the owners of the respective restaurants. 

"There's competition everywhere, Akane. I'm just here to try my hand at this business stuff. I just hope it works out…." He trailed off and shifted the puppy, which had fallen asleep exhausted from its exertions somewhere during the conversation, in his grip so that he could reach for a card in his pocket. He handed the card to Akane. 

"This is my new address. I'll be cleaning up the place for the next few days, but feel free to drop in any time. I'm eager to catch up with you, for old times' sake." His eyes softened. "I haven't forgotten all that you did for me when we were still in kindergarten and Junior High, Akane. I've yet to thank you for everything." 

"There's nothing to thank." Akane said firmly. She took the card from Soji and tucked it safely in her handbag. Glancing up, she saw that the sky would be dark soon.

Soji had noticed the same thing. "You'd better head home, Akane. Come visit me tomorrow?" 

Akane smiled. "You bet I will." 


	2. Later that Night

Forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter…*blush* 

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The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission. I hope to do them justice.

**_Chapter 2 – Later that night… _**

"So…you're saying this Soji guy is a old friend of yours?" Ranma executed a perfect roundhouse kick as part of the kata with casual grace, but, as Akane noticed, he had the oddest look on his face as he did so.

"That's right. I've known him since kindergarten." she answered shortly. 

Ranma tilted his head inquisitively in her direction, while the rest of his body continued gliding easily in the movements of the kata as if he were functioning on autopilot. 

"I thought you hated boys!"

Akane bit her lip, unsure of how to answer him. She hadn't always hated the members of the male species. In fact, at one point in her life, she had harbored the secret wish that she were a boy. After all, boys were the ones doted on by all the tradition-oriented adults, they were usually stronger, faster, better at physical activities like sports, and of course, martial arts… Nobody, except her parents, had ever really taken her seriously about her passion for martial arts. Even Ranma…but she didn't want to think about that right now. The main point was, she'd had plenty of male friends when she was younger. The problem had only started when puberty hit, and it became clear just how perverted and depraved boys' minds could be. 

"I didn't then, all right?" she replied, almost rudely, a defensive edge creeping into her voice. 

Ranma seemed to realize he'd said something inappropriate (he'd had a lot of practice after all) and stopped in the middle of the kata, raising his hands automatically to defend himself even though Akane hadn't yet made any sign that she was about to attack him. 

"OK, OK, I didn't mean to – whatever it was!" 

A twinge of irritation hit Akane. He didn't understand. He probably never would. Ignoring a small voice inside her that questioned why he should understand when she hadn't done any explaining, she pushed the issue aside and changed the subject. 

"Whatever. So how's the coaching going?"

A week ago, everyone, including Ranma himself, had been surprised to receive a written plea from the authorities at Furinkan Junior High for Ranma to take some time out to, of all things, act as a coach for their soccer team. Apparently the kids had been impatient with their existing coach (an old, balding man in his sixties) and…_encouraged_ him to quit, to put it politely. At first, Ranma had been skeptical ("Is this some kinda joke? I've never even _been _in Furinkan Junior!"), and Genma had resisted ("Ranma! As heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts you must spend all your time training and not waste your time playing soccer with little kids!"), but when it became clear that they were serious about the offer, he decided to take on the challenge. The fact that they were offering a generous fee effectively silenced the greedy Saotome patriarch's initial protests.

Ranma relaxed from his defensive stance and tucked his hands behind his head, thinking. 

"Fine, I guess. They sure weren't kidding about the Furinkan Junior team being 'little terrors' though. Man, I can't even turn my back without them plotting some mischief." 

He smirked then. "But I bet they'll be thinking twice about messing with _me_ from now on. Some of em' probably wouldn't be able to sit down for week." 

"Ranma!" Akane looked at him suspiciously. "You aren't bullying them or anything are you?" 

He instantly raised his hands to protect himself again, his mouth twisting into a scowl.

"No! Geez, Akane, you know I'm not like that! See, when I wasn't looking, a couple of em' decided to try and pull a fast one on me, you know, sneak up behind me and everything. But then I jumped outta the way and they slipped an' landed pretty hard on their butts. That's all I'm saying!" 

Akane immediately felt ashamed of herself. She _had _known that Ranma wasn't the bullying sort, yet she'd jumped to conclusions so quickly and had been so eager to accuse. Somewhere alongside the guilt, she also felt her heart swell with pride for him. She felt sure that he would be able to win the Furinkan Junior team's respect and lead them to victory in the upcoming inter-school tournament. 

But Ranma hadn't finished speaking.

"Man you uncute tomboy, I should've known you'd jump to conclusions like that, why do I even bother to…"

"RANMA YOU JERK!" 


	3. Thoughts

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The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission. I hope to do them justice.

A word from the author: 

Firstly, I am not Japanese and I have never been to Nerima. So, if I make a mistake regarding Japanese culture or locations, please forgive me and please drop me a note so I can make changes. Thank you! 

The same goes for characterization. From your reviews, I appear to be in the "safe" boundaries so far, but you see, I've never seen the manga, haven't finished watching all the anime episodes, and have no access to the movies or OAVs, so I may have a flawed understanding of the Ranma cast. If I trip up during characterization, please tell me that too. 

I am frankly amazed at those of you who decided to review and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I've no time to thank you individually, but your reviews have encouraged me greatly and helped me in improving my writing. Thank you once again, and I hope this lives up to your expectations! 

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Chapter 3 – Thoughts

By the next morning, Akane was already regretting her spontaneous burst of anger and wanted to try and make amends. She knew that Ranma would be heading down to Furinkan Junior to coach again that day. Thus, she decided to do the classic "thoughtful-fiancée" thing -- prepare him a delicious homemade boxed lunch! 

As Kasumi laid breakfast on the table outside, Akane slaved over the hot stove, blissfully dreaming of her fiancé's reaction to her thoughtful deed…

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"Oh Akane! You made this just for me? You're…you're too kind!" Ranma's face lit with a tremulous smile of joyful surprise as he reached out to take the boxed lunch almost reverently from her outstretched hands. 

Akane blushed happily at his obvious delight. "Don't be silly Ranma, it was my pleasure. I only hope that you'll enjoy it!"

"Believe me, I will! It smells wonderful!"

Speaking of smells, what was that? Glancing down, Akane realized to her chagrin that the vegetables in her vegetable stir-fry now mimicked the colour of the pan she was frying them in. 

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With a kick delivered expertly to the solar plexus, Ranma managed to send his father hurling into the Tendo carp pond from the window of their shared room. Humming delightedly -- he'd managed to defeat the old man without becoming female! -- Ranma strode confidently down the stairs towards the dining room. Then he paused. Akane would be down there. She usually got over her anger quite quickly, but she might still be mad about his slip of tongue yesterday. 

He sighed. Why was it so hard to get along with her sometimes? It wasn't as if they couldn't. Most of the time, when the attention wasn't centered directly on them, when there were no over-enthusiastic fiancées and no fake pet P-Chan, no crazy new martial artist or dubious magical item, and when of course he kept his big mouth shut, he and Akane got along just fine. Being with her in such rare moments was, in fact, strangely soothing. But never did their quiet moments last. Take yesterday, for example. They had been talking almost civilly, with Akane telling him about her chance meeting with her old friend and he telling her about the coaching. Look how _that_ turned out! 

Well, there was no avoiding it now. What would come, would come, and he would just have to deal with it. 

His father had picked his panda self out of the pond by now and was sulking at having been bested so early in the battle. He watched Ranma now, waiting for him to drop his guard so that he could repay the "favour" and steal some of his breakfast. Kasumi greeted him smilingly as usual and placed a bowl of rice in front of his seat at the table. Soun was engrossed in a newspaper. Nabiki was eating her breakfast with studied calm, a little frown creasing her forehead suggesting that she was lost in thought. Plotting how to make a quick yen, no doubt. Hoping that her latest scheme would not involve him or his girl half in some way, Ranma turned his eyes to the final member of the household. Akane did not appear to be upset. As she ate her breakfast in silence, her chin was tilted slightly upwards, eyes glazed over as if she were thinking of something infinitely pleasant. At his wary approach to the table, she turned to him and smiled. 

There was something magical about her smile. Akane was no ugly hag to begin with, but when she smiled like that, it was as though the sun had cast some special beam on her, transforming her from a mere pretty face into a…a…he lacked the words for it. The closest he'd ever come to it was saying, "You're cute when you smile." Attractive girls were nothing extraordinary in Ranma's world, but he had to admit, Akane out of the ordinary. Not that he would ever tell her that.

"Good morning, Ranma." 

Why were his senses tingling with warning? She was smiling at him; she was greeting him with no trace of yesterday night's wrath showing on her face. He returned the greeting, sat down and started devouring his breakfast. It was another day of facing the tots of terror after all, and he needed to keep his strength up. Once in a while he glanced fearfully at his fiancée. His sense of danger was still ringing alarm bells and any moment now he expected her to leap up and smash him into the floor with her mallet. The best way to avoid this fate was to clamp his mouth firmly shut and avoid saying anything that might antagonize her. A quick departure would help too.

He finished his breakfast and looked up at the family. 

"I'm leaving," he announced." Coaching duty calls. See you guys in the evening."

"Wait, Ranma." Akane hurried into the kitchen and emerged with an ominous box-shaped item that Ranma recognized all too well.

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Oh, no.

"I made lunch for you, Ranma!"

Ranma felt trapped. No wonder his danger sense had been warning him! Akane wasn't angry anymore, but to him, her cooking was more lethal than anything else she could throw at him was. Trouble was, if he refused her cooking, he would incite her rage to come back worse than ever, and he really didn't want to go through that whole cycle again. Her face was flushed with happiness. Was this the reason she'd looked so contented a moment ago? 

"Er…wow, Akane! You made that just…for me? You're…you're too kind!" He managed to choke out. He tried to smile, but it kept slipping off his face and rearranging itself into a look of horror. He forced his arms, which felt as heavy as lead, to reach out for the box. His fingers trembled so violently that they could barely grasp hold of it. 

She looked startled, then hurt. The red in her cheeks was changing from the blush of joy to the deep vermilion of embarrassment and anger. Was the revulsion on his face so obvious? 

"It was my pleasure, Ranma. I only hope that you will enjoy it," she answered stiffly. 

"Uh…yeah! You bet I will! It smells…" Ranma hesitated. The smell rising from the boxed lunch in his hands pricked his nose and made him shudder. It was appalling. 

The courage that had led him to take it in the first place was rapidly leaving him. Ranma took a deep breath. 

"Forgive me, Akane!"

The boxed lunch clattered to the floor as the young martial artist fled at an inhuman speed, his fiancée's howl of fury echoing in the streets behind him.

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"Ranma, you jerk." Akane whispered. 

Her face was streaked with tearstains, her eyes red and swollen. Though she had washed up before going out, her mind kept replaying the morning's disaster over and over in her head and her eyes kept responding with fresh tears. She paused to lean tiredly against the wall and rub her eyes before carrying on her slow trek to Soji's house. He was sure to notice her tears and ask her what was wrong, but she wasn't going to tell him. No, she didn't want more people to know about her failure.

For a long time now, Tendo Akane had felt inferior. Before that jerk had come into her life, she had practically been the best in martial arts, that poetry-spouting idiot Kuno notwithstanding. Before that jerk had come into her life, bringing his harem of beautiful maidens who were talented both in martial arts and in the housewifely arts with him Akane had felt no urge to learn how to cook and sew properly and all that. No. Before Saotome Ranma, Akane had been happy.

If not for his presence in her house and in her life, she would never had met Shampoo. The voluptuous Chinese beauty who had more agility, speed and grace in one little finger than Akane had in her whole body, who was heir to the illustrious Amazon heritage, who could offer the secrets of new martial arts techniques to Ranma, who could _cook_. Had she never known Ranma, she would never have known Ukyo either. She had to admit that she liked Ukyo better than Shampoo. Ukyo was usually pleasant to her, when she wasn't setting her up with Ryoga so she could take Ranma for herself. Ukyo was lovely though, with her long brown hair and delicate features. Having spent so many years fending for herself, she was also tremendously skilled in the martial arts, and her cooking was to die for. Compared to Ukyo and Shampoo, she might as well be a wallflower.

And Kodachi? Well, she certainly might have met Kodachi with or without Ranma, seeing that she lived in Nerima and was Kuno's sister. There was no doubt though, that Akane would not have to see her quite so often if not for Ranma. Kodachi was, while totally off her rocker, svelte and gorgeous, a brilliant martial artist and, despite her fondness for drugs and poisons, an excellent cook. 

No, compared to these three, Akane was nothing. She tried to make good on her shortcomings with practice and brute strength, but the fact remained that she was, in Ranma's words, "a clumsy…slow…uncute…tomboy…" But if she had never met Ranma, she would never have to feel as lousy as this. What's more, she would never have been kidnapped or captured or hurt in any way by any of Ranma's numerous enemies. She wished she had never laid eyes on the arrogant, egoistic, insensitive jerk. But that wasn't true either….

"Face it, Akane." Her voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper. Before Saotome Ranma, could she honestly say she was happy? Surely not. At that time, even though she'd been arguably the best in martial arts and almost certainly the most popular girl in school, life had been strangely empty. Ranma might have brought craziness and sometimes pain into her life, but he had also brought the _life_ into her life. It was because of him that she strove to improve herself and become better than she was. And she did…care…about him. More than she wanted to admit. He was handsome, but he was so much more than that. He was courageous, honourable, good at heart. He could be sweet and gentlemanly when he made an effort, and even though his enemies had put her in danger many times, he had never failed to save her. Never. That was the one thing she knew she could count on. Even if he would almost surely die, the dear, silly fool would risk his life to save her. 

Then, the memory of her fiancé's mad dash from the Tendo Dojo replayed itself in her head once more, and Akane sighed. She might as well face that fact too. As long as she was as repellent to him as the food she cooked, Ranma would never love her. 

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Meanwhile, Ranma, who had reached Furinkan Junior High a good 45 minutes early, bashed his head repeatedly into a massive stone pillar, causing dust and bits of granite to fly in all directions as a huge dent appeared in it (the pillar, not his head). 

He could've just _taken_ the stupid lunchbox! After all that she had done, he could at least have _brought_ the thing with him, even if he wouldn't actually eat the toxic stuff! That way, he wouldn't have left her standing like a fool in the middle of the dining room with the abandoned lunchbox at her feet, screaming herself hoarse with rage and pain. That way, he wouldn't have hurt her.

Ranma groaned loudly. At this rate, Akane was really gonna start hating him. And _that_ was the last thing he ever wanted to happen.


End file.
